PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -
The Lafayette women's lacrosse team earned its first win of 2007 when the team left Philadelphia with a 15-14 win over Villanova on Thursday evening at Villanova Stadium. Sophomore Kristin Ruminski matched a career-high four goals, while Maddy Booth and Julia Bateman also registered hat tricks in the winning effort.

Lafayette, which maintained possession for the majority of the first half, wasted no time getting on the scoreboard when Booth found Ruminski just a minute and a half into the action. After Villanova evened the score just over two minutes later, the Leopards scored back-to-back goals within a span of three minutes as sophomore attack Emily Archibald (22:17) and freshman Maria Drehwing (19:13) broke through.

The Wildcats evened things up again (3-3) midway through the first half, but the Leopards proceeded to score five of the last six goals before the break, taking an 8-4 lead at intermission. Booth and Ruminski each scored twice, while Bateman and Drehwing also beat Villanova keeper Jessica Brozena before the half.

The Leopards maintained momentum and opened the second half with three straight goals before four minutes could be erased off the clock. Drehwing scored unassisted with 27 minutes to go, while sophomore Casey Sharkey (26:52) and Ruminski (26:38) both registered goals to give Lafayette its largest lead of the game, 11-4.

Stevie McFadden broke up the Leopards' rally for the Wildcats when she scored with 25:48 to play. Four minutes later Booth converted a free position shot at the 21:57 mark, but the Wildcats kept the goals coming with four straight before the 14-minute mark.

Sharkey scored her second of the day on a pass from Drehwing with 13:57 to go, making it 13-9 in favor of the Leopards. Villanova tallied back-to-back goals within 13 seconds around the 12-minute mark, and the teams proceeded to play through seven scoreless minutes from that point.

Bateman broke the silence with a pair of goals as the clock was running down. Those two goals would prove to be crucial once the Wildcats went on a three-goal run over the final 1:37 to pull within one, 15-14. The final goal came with 26 seconds remaining, and the Leopards were able to hold on from there.

Ruminski paced Lafayette with five points (4G, 1A), while Archibald matched a career-high three assists to go with her single goal for four points. Bateman came up with her second hat trick of her rookie campaign. Fellow freshman, Drehwing, had three points (2G, 1A). Junior Kelley Dodds managed a season-high two assists in the effort.

Freshman keeper Christine McDougal had 10 saves on the night, while Bronzena totaled 14 for the Wildcats.

Lafayette returns to action for its final regular season game of the year on Saturday against Bucknell at 1 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa.

Lafayette Athletics, as a partner in the mission of the College, provides an incredibly effective learning experience for student-athletes through competitive NCAA Division I athletics. Lafayette sponsors 23 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes.